Tire maker settles lawsuits

Tire maker settles lawsuits

TOKYO: Bridgestone/Firestone said on Friday it had settled
several class action lawsuits with owners of tires involved in
massive recalls in 2000 and 2001 over tire models that were
linked to a series of deadly accidents in the U.S.

The settlement covered tyre owners who were not injured and
did not suffer property damage, said a statement released on
Friday, Japan time, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, the North
American unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corp., said it would spend
US$15.45 million on a three-year consumer education program
focusing on tyre inflation, use and maintenance.

It also would pay about 45 people a maximum of $2,500 each for
financial losses, said a Bridgestone spokesman.

Bridgestone had suffered losses since 2000 when it was forced
into a series of massive recalls due to accidents involving
Firestone-fitted Ford Explorer vehicles, which U.S. authorities
say claimed 271 lives. -- AFP